Surviving Victory
by C. Nile De'Mencia
Summary: We won the War against the Kaiju, but now what? Post Operation Pitfall, Chuck lives because darnnit, Mako gets an escape pod, why cant he? Definite Chuck/Raleigh. M for language and suggestive themes in later chapters
1. Waking up

A/N First off, Hi! Down to business, This story is pretty heavily AU, even though its still set in (pretty much) cannon. There are parts that will seem off because I didn't do research or I mistakes something for something else, but most of it I actually meant to write that way. This fic is more my interpretation and the way I imagine the story could continue. one last thing, review! Even if you hate it, tell me why! Happy reading, -Brigid

Surprise. That was the most prominent thing in the forefront of Raleigh Becket's mind when his eyes re-opened. Mako had just opened his escape pod and almost strangled him to death in a hug. But it didnt stop there. There was a bubbling, a churning of the water about fifty feet from them, then, another escape pod burst from the waves, charred black in most places, part of the Striker Eureka emblem on it's side seared off by nuclear fire.

Surprise. Surprise and now fear as Alighieri tore himself from Mako's arms and lunged into the water, pumping his arms and legs furiously, fighting his bulky drivesuit with every movement, an uphill battle to move an inch, but the American fought the frigid water like a madman, choking on salt and the beginning of his own tears as he dragged his exhausted body onto the steaming escape pod. The nuclear fire that had burned the escape pod, delayed it's assent, seared through Raleigh's drivesuit as he physically tore the hatch off of the pod with a shriek of weakened, torn metal.

The hatch skidded across the water as the tears began to fall, un-heeded by their spring as he gently pressed burnt fingers to the face of the young Australian in the pod. He wasnt breathing. The pod had ruptured in the blast and there was water in the bottom. Raleigh immediately started compressions and CPR, pounding his hands against the pilot's chest and breathing air into his lungs for him.

It took only a minute for Chuck to respond, thrashing and gagging, choking up the sea water from his lungs while he clung desperately to Raleigh, as though the American were his only life line in the ocean. Raleigh allowed it, only pushing the other pilot away to transfer his to his own pod, the Australian's sinking back into the depths, as though a beast, forced to give up it's meal before retreating to it's murky lair.

The moment they were both on the pod, Chuck was back in Raleigh's arms, shivering like a leaf in a tornado, his teeth chattering and his skin, what the American could feel of it, freezing cold. Raleigh just grinned, they had closed the breach, had won the war, and Chuck had survived. Against all odds, humanity stood the victor. Just as they heard the choppers, the whine of the engines and the heavy thud in the air, Chuck did something Raleigh never expected, he removed his face from the older man's shoulder just long enough to kiss him, then sheepishly buried his head back into Raleigh's shoulder.

The American was stunned, He didnt know how to respond. Mako just looked at him like she had found the long lost missing piece to a puzzle, but there was something else in her look as well, besides the sudden understanding, anger. Disappointment and anger. Raleigh didnt so much read it in her face as he felt it in the ghost drift. Mako thought he belonged to her, he was /i/her/i/ co-pilot. He had seen her feelings for him in the drift, but had never mentioned them to her, hadn't even acknowledged their existence, aside from training and piloting, hadn't really acknowledged /i/her/i/ existence. Now she thought she knew why.

Raleigh didnt have time enough to say anything before the choppers were there, hovering beside them, throwing over a rope ladder and holding out hands to help pull them into the aircraft. Mako, always one to seal away her emotions for later, went first, letting herself be pulled into the helicopter and taking a seat near the back of the cramped space. Raleigh tried to pull Chuck from him to get him into the helicopter, but the Aussie was having none of it, merely tightening his grasp on the blonde and trying to burrow closer to him. With a growl of frustration, He gripped Chuck by his drivesuit's shoulder pauldren and a thigh plate and tossed him at the chopper.

A terrified "eep" (or as close to eep as the Auss could get) escaped his mouth as he sailed into the arms of the rescue team and was dragged into the craft. Raleigh quickly followed him, eager to be out of the ocean, and take a shower. The moment he was seated in the craft, Chuck was back at his side, a blanket over his sodden shoulders. He was still visibly shaken, shivering, his expression one of terror, bewilderment, and, prominent above all, admiration. Raleigh thought he might have seen a hint of something a little deeper than that, but he was mentally and physically exhausted.

The American's eyes drifted shut and he fell away from the chopper, into the blissful oblivion of unconsciousness.

-

-

Raleigh woke to soft, medical beeping, the harsh chemical sting of antiseptic in the air, and... snoring? The blonde cracked his eyes open slowly, already awake and alert, to see a drab, grey, cinder block ceiling above him. He turned his head slowly towards the source of the snoring, Herc Hanson, passed out in a chair beside his bed. Beside him was Tendo Choi, reading through a magazine disinterestedly. His eyes flicked up from the article and caught the American's.

"Hey there, Beckett boy." He whispered with a smile, glad to see his friend awake. Raleigh opened his mouth to greet the LOCCENT officer, but Tendo put a finger to his lips, pointing passed Raleigh with a "shush" sound, "Wouldn't want to wake him up, his tantrums are legendary." he said with a smirk, keeping his voice barely audible. To say that the American was confused was an understatement. The amount of pain medication running through him made him almost completely numb, 'wow, I must have got banged up worse than I thought...' was his brief thought as he slowly rotated his head around, well, more like it lolled forward and kind of jerked to the other side.

At his feet, He noticed not one, but two foot boards, 'So my bed is pressed together with someones, I wonder who-' His train of thought cut off as he saw the pudgy, wrinkly body of an English Bulldog, an English bulldog he knew very well, which meant... "Chuck..." Raleigh whispered out as his head made the last bit of turn and brought the Australian Ranger into view. He was sprawled on the bed, his ratty, olive-drab Striker Eureka shirt riding up his tone abdomen, one arm draped possessively over the American's belly and a leg pressed into Raleigh's thigh.

The amount of painkillers that he must be on, for him not to notice the Aussie draped over him like the blankets, must be enough to tranquilize a Kaiju, he thought to himself as he stared at the ranger beside him. His head turned in jagged movements back to Tendo and he looked at the man with confusion in his eyes. Tendo had nudged Herc, waking the new Marshal, and pointed him to Raleigh. Herc regarded the Ranger with a blend of respect, happiness, pride, and a little bit of confusion his own.

Raleigh tried to open his mouth to talk, but he had the worst case of cotton mouth he had ever experienced. "Wah-uer?" he managed to rasp out, not quite getting his tongue to cooperate. Herc just nodded and stood, he took a shot glass from his pocket and filled it at the small sink in the room, then placed it to his lips, tilting it back slightly, just enough to let a few drops enter the American's mouth.

Raleigh motioned him to stop and let the water run down his throat, soothing the irritated tissue. "Thanks." He rasped out, giving the man a small smile of gratitude. Herc just nodded. The ranger motioned to Chuck with a jerk of his chin, giving the Marshal a questioning look. Herc just shook his head, lifting his shoulders slightly as he did. "Docs put him in the room down the hall to treat his radiation burns, but when they left, he came in here and pushed the spare over to yours, refused to leave after that."

Raleigh sensed that there was more to it, but the Australian beside him growled annoyedly at the voices and shifted closer, his fingers making a warm, tingly trail over the bandages that covered Raleigh's right shoulder and pectoral. A warm tingly the quickly intensified into a dull throbbing. The American grunted in pain, but mastered himself quickly. Not quickly enough to still the tensing of his body, sending more pain shooting through his arm and setting his right knee to throbbing. He groaned louder, biting back an actual cry, but making enough noise to rouse the sleeping ranger beside him.

Herc just shook his head, then he ducked it out the door for a moment, calling a nurse in to check Raleigh's wounds. Chuck finally opened his eyes after growling was decidedly useless to quite the room. He looked over at what he had thought was a body pillow, and realized that the big, blazing pillow, was in fact, a big, blazing blonde, two striking, baby-blue eyes staring directly at him, jaw rigid with strain. The pilot's hand jerked back to his own side and red rose in his cheeks.

"H-hi..." He whispered to his fellow pilot sheepishly, sitting up gingerly. Raleigh noticed that most of his back was covered in bandages, as were the backs of his arms, and, if he had to guess, the backs of his legs too. "Hey.." Raleigh said back, his face, while still partly numb, turned up into a lopsided grin. The red in Chuck's face grew and spread to his neck and what Raleigh could see of his chest. The Aussie gave him a non-nonchalant look and reached over for his own cup of water.

The Nurse came in with a doctor in tow. She checked Raleigh's monitors,and at his behest, inclined the head of his bed so that he could see the room a little more comfortably. "How do you feel, Raleigh?" She asked him, looking down at a clipboard before giving him a bright smile. Her accent was unmistakeable, and the pilot recognized her immediately, Sarah Connely, one of the doctor's from Gipsy Danger's original crew.

"Numb." Was his short answer. He was glad to see a familiar face, Connely had patched him and Yancy up many a time, post-battle. "Good, that will be the morphine, That Kaiju really did a number on you and Miss Mori. And how are you, Ranger Hansen?" She seemed warm and kind to Raleigh, but her tone towards the other Ranger was a little less kind. "Fine." Was Chuck's quick, cold answer. For some reason, there seemed to be a fair bit of animosity between them, but the doctor, a bespectacled Asian man with short cropped, greying hair, shooed her off before they could trade more words.

"Ranger Hansen," He said, getting the attention of Jr. and Sr., "Its time to change your bandages, please accompany nurse Connely to room 6, and try not to cry to loudly, Jin and Hu are still sleeping." He said with a snicker, ignoring the Australian's outrage at his insinuation. Chuck went, grousing the whole way, but taking careful steps not to irritate his burns.

"I'm Doctor Lao, how do you feel, Mister Beckett?" He asked Raleigh as he consulted the monitors and checked a clip-board. "A little achy, how long have I been out?" He asked the Doctor, looking to Herc, who just looked back at him, that same, unreadable mixture of emotion on his face. "You have been asleep for almost three days, I'm surprised you woke up so soon, we gave you quite a bit of sedative." He told Raleigh, moving to his side and starting to remove the bandages on his shoulder.

"Try to hold still while I check your burns, its hard enough without your squirming." He admonished, stilling the Ranger for a moment. "Whats with Chuck?" Raleigh finally asked, the question having been brewing in his mind since he brought the pilot back from the dead. He had posed the question to the room in general, but was surprised when Tendo, quiet till this point, spoke up, "It complicated. We think that something went wrong when Stacker ended the drift to eject Chuck. He is... stuck. Like a ghost drift that wont end." Tendo had a grimace at that, he had been around when they were perfecting drift tech, had heard the horror stories about drift failures.

Raleigh shared the LOCCENT officer's grimace, he had heard the stories, he had been connected when Yance died, felt a part of himself die, and the residual of the drift, reliving the death of his other half over and over. He shuddered, earning a glare from the doctor.

After Tendo's explanation, the room went quiet. Raleigh looked down at his exposed flesh, examining the damage himself. It wasn't good. It was better than he could have hoped for, but that didnt make it good. He had a criss-crossing patchwork of electrical burns from where the Kaiju, he hadn't caught its name over the comm, had ripped of Gipsy's arm, shorting out his drivesuit.

The burns were bad, second degree in most places, but the space where the pauldren was etched with the PPDC emblem was a third degree scorch mark, roughly the same shape as the emblem. The burns weren't confined to his shoulder, the tangle of burns dipped down onto the right side of his chest, and almost to his neck. Burned into his skin was also the pattern of three dog tags and their chain, the letters on them all clearly seared into his flesh, though he needed a mirror to see them,

RNG. RALEIGH BECKETT  
>RNG. YANCEY BECKETT<br>RNG. MAKO MORI

Beneath each name was the PPDC insignia, and the name, Gipsy Danger. All three of Gipsy's pilots, branded over his heart. A tear leaked from the corner of his eye, in the years since Knifehead, Raleigh had meant to get a tattoo, in his brother's honor, but never actually had. This might not have been the way he wanted it done, but he couldn't really change it now, could he? Herc noticed the tear and the names as well, he didnt say anything, but he understood the sentiment.

Doctor Lao looked over the burns, poked at a couple of them, and nodded, checking his clipboard every so often. "Your healing remarkably well, lets check your knee and Il wrap you back up so you can rest." He said, adjusting his glasses and pulling the blanket away from his leg. Whatever confidence the Ranger had in his quick healing was wiped away when he saw his leg. The joint was wrapped almost completely in bandages, but he could still see purple, brown, yellow and black.

Lao saw his expression and nodded. "Gipsy's arm was shorn off, which limited the burns there, but her leg was still attached. The water damage from a hull rupture shorted the inhibitors in your suit, basically, it didnt stop transmitting the damage to your suit. Everything from here," the doctor laid his hand on Raleigh's thigh, a couple inches above the knee, "to here," he then moved his hand to about eight inches above the ankle, "is covered in second to third degree burns. One of the burns ripped open when you saved /i/Ranger Hansen/i/ and it got infected."

He said Chuck's name in a way that annoyed Raleigh, like the pilot was a moron and a personal pain in the ass. Lao continued, "We were fast enough to save the leg, but you have massive nerve damage. You will likely lose feeling from mid-thigh down, and in the upper portion of your arm, but it shouldn't effect you overly, you may have to re-learn how to walk, but hopefully it wont come to that, there's a good chance that the nerves in your ankle and foot are just hibernating, for lack of a better word."

Raleigh just sighed, "Well, at least I'm not dead..." then something pinged in his head, "Hows Mako?" he asked, genuine concern in his voice. Herc sighed just as loudly as Raleigh had, "Stacker was all she had." It was short, simple, and the look of sadness on his face spoke volumes more than any word could. His co-pilot had taken it badly, was likely not coping well with the loss, and Raleigh didnt blame her.

After Knifehead, Raleigh had basically died. Yes, he still breathed, his heart still beat, he walked, and talked, well, not really, but inside, his mind was shattered. It took him every second of the five years he had spent, mindlessly laboring for meager food rations(ironically on the thing that had basically shut down the Jaeger program) to pull himself together enough to even talk to people, and that was still only out of necessity, and sometimes not even then.

"I see..." He said, grunting as the doctor finished the bandages around his leg, for which he was infinitely thankful that he had been distracted through. "Medically speaking, Miss Mori is in basically the same boat as you, though her burns were less serious, and she didnt become infected like you. She was discharged this morning, I believe she has spent the time since drinking like a fish with the Wei brothers." The doctor said, a tinge of disdain in his voice.

While he was shocked, and relieved that Crimson Typhoon's pilots had survived, he was becoming infuriated with the rudeness, and outright disdain towards his fellow pilots, and it showed. Maybe not to the doctor, who was busy with his clipboard, but Herc saw it, the cold fury building in the baby blue eyes. The Marshal shook his head at Raleigh, but from his expression, the American could tell that he felt just the same.

Lao finished with his clipboard and quickly re-bandaged Raleigh, being unnecessarily rough, the pilot thought, and left in short order. Herc growled at the door before turning back to Raleigh, "That guy rubs me the wrong way." He said, darkness clouding his features for a moment. "I feel the same." The pilot replied, "The Wei's survived Crimson Typhoon's destruction?" He asked, letting a little of the hope he had show.

While he didn't consider the triplets friends, Raleigh liked them well enough, had played basketball with them a time or to. He found their company enjoyable, but it was bitter-sweet, it reminded him of how he and Yancy had horsed around. "Mostly. Jin and Hu made it out with broken ribs and arms, but Cheung took the neural surge when the drift collapsed, and it put him in a coma. Both of his legs were shattered, and the docs don't think he will ever walk again, but he is still alive, for now." Herc said, the sadness in his voice speaking the sorrow he harbored for the Triplets.

Raleigh was shocked to the core, he had seen how Otachi had crushed Crimson's head, had thought that there was no way that something like that could be survived. And yet... "What about Cherno Alpha? Are Sasha and Aleksis...?" He trailed off, not wanting to continue the though, and let himself hope. Grief, real grief filled Hercules Hanson. It wasn't an open display of sorrow, it was a subtle thing that Jaeger pilots began to notice, the more the drifted, as speech became less important to converse.

"No. Aleksis survived the destruction of Cherno Alpha's conn pod, but Sasha... He dragged her to shore and tried to save her, but she was gone. We found them on the dock, near Leatherback. There were eight rounds from a pistol, stuck in the Kaiju's face, the ninth was..." Herc trailed off again, unable to say out loud what the pilot had done. "We found them, Sasha was cradled against Aleksis, and they both looked... peaceful."

Raleigh was silent. There was nothing to say. Luckily, he didnt have to. Herc looked out the door a moment, then closed and locked it. He pulled his chair a bit closer to Raleigh's bed and reached into his jacket, pulling out a bottle of Vodka and another shot glass. "Figured maybe we should have a drink for them." Herc said, setting the glasses on the tray beside the bed and filling them both with the liquid.

It takes effort, and intense concentration, but Raleigh manages to bring his un-injured hand over to the tray and grasps the shot glass. His hand trembles as he lifts the little glass, he spills a little when he taps it too hard against Herc's, he almost chokes at the burn from the alcohol. They didnt say any words, they didnt have to.

A knock on the door ends the moment, not to late or too soon, it just signifies the transition from memorializing fallen comrades to addressing the new comer. Herc grabs the shot glasses and bottle and hides it back in his jacket and Tendo unlocks the door. Its Chuck, loking highly pissed, and in more than a little pain. Tendo backs away from the door and lets him in, motioning his head from Herc to the door and back. Herc just nods.

He turns to Raleigh before he stands to go, "Take it easy, let yourself heal, there's a world out there that wants to see it's hero." He looks to his son, giving him a unreadable look, to witch the younger pilot gives him the finger, and then leaves the room. No other distractions in the room, Raleigh's eyes turn to Chuck.

The Australian looks like he is going to yell at him to stop being.. whatever it was that he was being, then a flash of something like fear crossed his face and he was torn between haughty anger and frustration. He walked over to the bed like he was treading rusty thumbtacks, and he favored his left leg significantly. As he lifted the covers and crawled into the conjoined beds, he seemed reluctant to do so, but oh-so-glad that he did.

When faced with the American's questioning gaze, the Australian looked at him sheepishly, moving in a little closer, turning onto his side in the process, his chest touching Raleigh's side, sending his skin up in goose flesh. His response was barely audible, and the American wasn't entirely sure he hadn't just imagined it, "You make the voices stop"


	2. An old friend

The days bedridden with Chuck had been... odd. The Aussie was perpetually stuck between loving and hating Raleigh. It was incredibly confusing at times, like when Chuck cursed his existence, all the while cuddling closer to him. The psychologists came and went, and eventually told them that Chuck was locked into a kind of Ghost drift/PTSD that had occurred when Stacker ended the drift.

According to Striker's J-techs, who had been pouring over the data transmitted through the fight, Slattern had jumbled the pons system when it bashed them into the volcanic vent that had jammed the payload release. And when Stacker activated Chuck's escape pod, it sent a surge through the system that reactivated the drift as the pod launched.

That had explained why Striker went rigid when the escape pod launched, and the sudden slump a few moments later. Of course Chuck just growled and told them to fuck off, which Raleigh was quickly beginning to realize was his go-to response for about everything. Mako had avoided the duo studiously, only having checked on Raleigh once, while Chuck was out of the room. She had regarded her co-pilot clinically, not really cold, but... detached, as though she were only there in body, not in mind.

When the doctor finally cleared him to leave, he almost cried, he had always hated been cooped up in one place for too had stayed glued to him for most of the week, only leaving once he ad been cleared to leave to get clothes and making a public appearance with his father, the new Marshal, to the public, other than that, he spent most of his time with Raleigh, bitching at him, reading to him, bitching at him, giving him updates on the outside world, and yep, you guessed it, bitching at him.

Raleigh, for the most part, enjoyed the Ranger's company, besides the bitching. Once he got passed the man's facade of overwhelming self confidence and disdain, he realized a kindred spirit, in a way. Chuck had eventually told Raleigh his story, how he hadn't really had a childhood, going from Shatterdome to Shatterdome, loosing his mother, and then his Uncle Scott, his father's distance from him, his need to become the very best, and his secret admiration of Gipsy and her pilots, wrung out of him after several bottles of smuggled-in beer.

While Raleigh had had a solid childhood, and had joined the PPDC with his brother, he knew what it was like to lose family, whether to Kaiju or conflict it didnt matter, it still stung. And the American definitely knew the immeasurable effort to be the best, and the fame that came with becoming a rockstar Jaeger pilot. They didn't agree on a lot, but they found that they could agree on enough not to be ripping each other's throats out, and they called a truce.

When Chuck wheeled Raleigh out of room 4 of Med Bay, it was like he had been set free from shackles, even though he was still confined to either a bed or a wheel-chair, it still felt good to be out of the small, grey room. Raleigh demanded that their first stop be the Wei brothers. Chuck nodded solemnly and wheeled the pilot down the hall. A soft knock and a murmured "Come-in." and they were in the large-ish suite.

Cheung Wei was on one of three beds, all pushed over to the far wall that held a small window which looked out over the bay. His brothers lay in the beds to his side, each holding one of his hands in their own while they watched a basketball game, muted, on the small tv mounted on the wall. Jin and Hu flicked their eyes to the two as they entered.

No doubt they had heard of the strange pairing already, it had been all the buzz around the Shatterdome for a few days. Chuck wheeled Raleigh over to the foot of Cheung's bed. The man looked small, covered in a tangle of wires, monitors to either side of his head. Raleigh nodded to Jin, he had made sort-of friends with the triplets, but he found it easiest to talk to the middle child.

"How is he?" The pilot asked quietly. Jin sighed and muttered something in rapid-fire cantonese, so quiet and fast Raleigh didnt really catch it. "He sleeps now, but the doctors think he might wake up soon. But there's a good chance he wont..." Jin said, the darkness of fear tinging his words as he looked worriedly at the oldest sibling. Hu spoke next, surprising Raleigh, as the youngest rarely spoke to him of his own volition.

"When Otachi slayed Crimson Typhoon, he," he inclined his head towards his comatose brother, "took all the surge from the drift, we heard his, " tears leaked from the man's eyes, "screams in our heads." Hu broke off into rambling Cantonese, and both he and Jin shuddered at the painful memory.

Raleigh said nothing, he knew from experience that there was nothing he could say. In stead, he pushed himself forward, wincing at the ache that flared up in his shoulder, but bearing it, and put both his hands around Jin and Cheung's clasped hands, giving them a squeeze and a meaningful look to the man. He gave Hu a respectful nod as well, and released his fellow pilot's hands.

He nodded to Chuck, who had been waiting, oddly silently, by the door, to wheel him out, and give the triplets their space. As they wheeled through the halls, nodding to people as they passed, Raleigh sent up a prayer, something he hadn't done since he was a child, for Cheung, he hoped that the man recovered, he wouldn't wish the pain of a lost co-pilot and brother on anyone, and he actually kind of liked Cheung, he knew how to make someone laugh, no matter what.

So lost in his thoughts as he was, Raleigh didnt even notice where they were going until he sat, bewildered, in an empty double suite with an excellent view of the harbor and the Hong Kong skyline. "Chuck, where are we?" he asked the Ranger, his confusion evident. "New room, compliments of the Marshal. Turns out he is rather appreciative of our whole, "Saved The World From Being Over-Run By Kaiju" thing." The Australian said in a smart-ass tone, which earned him a slap on the arm from the American.

The room was one of the VIP suites on the sixth floor that had been pretty much abandoned when the UN began cutting funding for the Jaeger program. It was a basic two room affair, with a living room/kitchenette and a spacious bedroom and bathroom. Raleigh noted the single, king-sized bed, and when he pointed it out, Chuck, cool as ever, informed him that the couch was a hide-a-bed. Raleigh "hmmm'd" in response, before letting it go.

Chuck wheeled him back into the living room and went to the mini-fridge, withdrawing a couple of beers, and watching amusedly as Raleigh worked himself out of the wheelchair and on to the worn-out couch. The American sighed with relief at the comfortable chair as he sank into it an flipped the tv on. He grunted his thanks for the beer that appeared before him, and turned his attention to the news while he settled his legs comfortably on the length of the couch.

Chuck squatted down before him and leaned against the old piece of furniture as he too watched the tv while Raleigh flipped through the endless channels. He entered a few numbers on the remote at random, and decided to watch whatever it was, setting the remote down and taking another pull from his beer. The channel changed, But Raleigh didnt really notice, he was struck by a memory.

"He and Yancey had just bagged their second kill, PSJ-18. After all the partying was done, all the public appearances finished, they had gone back to their hotel room and watched tv, drinking beer and trading banter."

A small smile creeped across Raleigh's face as he traded his beer to his left hand and dropped his right onto Chuck's head, ruffling the Aussie's hair gently, massaging his scalp with a reminiscent smile on his face.

Chuck went stiff, his own beer bottle half way to his mouth, "Oi, what d'you think your doing?" He sounded caught between enjoying the contact and wanting to rip the other pilot's arm off and beat him with it. Raleigh seemed surprised by the response, "Huh? I'm not doing anything." He said, a his smile widening a bit, 'just like Yancey...' He thought to himself.

-

-

"My god, they survived that?" Was Raleigh's response when the Jump Hawks air lifted Crimson Typhoon's corpse back to the Shatterdome, one team carrying its body, another its mangled head. It had been barely a whisper, but Chuck had heard. "Barely, the Wei Tangs are tough sons-of-bitches." The Australian's voice was hushed, no one in the shatterdome spoke, it was a vigil for the defeated Jaegers, as Cherno Alpha's remains had been brought back just before Typhoon.

Crimson Typhoon's conn-podd was crumpled like a tin can, its great lense crushed to a fine powder, only a few jagged pieces remaining of the colossal ocular. There were wires and bits of machinery poking out through the gashes in the maroon plating, and through the smashed out portal of the Jaeger's eye, the mangled harnesses where the triplets had once piloted the titan.

Herc stood silently, observing the wreckage with great sadness, and a small tinge of relief and respect for Crimson's pilots. Mako stood beside him, a tear on her cheek for the destruction of the machine, consulting a clipboard held before her. "Marshal, according to prelim exams, most of the damage done to Crimson Typhoon was focused on the conn-pod and the arms. More inspections are required, but I estimate it can be repaired and put back into service inside two months." Mako said, no real emotion in her voice as she put check-marks on the paper attached to her clipboard.

Herc was stoic for a moment, not wanting to speak, but finding that he had to, his duties as marshal demanded he keep the shatterdome functioning. Reluctantly, he broke his silence for the first time since Cherno Alpha's aerial bay door opened, "Lets talk to the triplets first, figure out if we are repairing the conn-pod or putting in a dual pilot system. Report on Cherno?" The Marshal didn't want the report on the Russian Jaeger, but he knew he must listen to it.

Mako's face twisted in sorrow a moment, she had been good friends with the Kaidonovskys, and their deaths had stung. "Sir, Prelim exams indicate Cherno Alpha as being a total loss. The reactor entered melt-down after he was downed, the resulting destabilization and explosion destroyed most of the systems. Some tech, including components of the Pons system may be salvageable, their may be more, the team is still picking through, but repairs will be impossible, Cherno Alpha sustained t-to much d-damage."

Her voice cracked at the end, more tears pouring down her face as she finished, but no one faulted her, Cherno Alpha and Sasha and Aleksis had been a great loss, for everyone, even Chuck felt it. "Very good, I will expect a full report on both Jaegers by morning, dismissed." Herc sounded just like Stacker had, cutting off his emotions and soldiering on. Mako bowed and turned on her heel, giving Raleigh a strange look as she left.

A couple days after he had been discharged from medical, Mako had come to Raleigh in the cafeteria. She apologized to him for being so cold to him and not visiting him while he was bedridden. She had needed time to sort her emotions, she explained. She didnt want to ruin their friendship by being rude and avoiding him. Raleigh was glad. While they weren't exactly close, they were still co-pilots, had still walked each-others minds and still knew each other on an intimate level, far more so than any other person ever could, well, short of piloting a Jaeger with them.

Raleigh flashed back into the present, back to where he stood, to 's outrage, at the rail of the viewing platform he now occupied alone with Chuck.

-

-

The week got more and more interesting for Raleigh, and then, something incredible. Herc had gotten word from Australia's UN representative that a Jaeger was on its way to them, A restored Mark 4. As the data on the Jaeger was transferred, a kind of tension filled the room, what dead hero had been brought back to life? What felled Jaeger had been restored?

Lucky Seven.

Herc was floored by the revelation. His old Jaeger, brought out of Oblivion Bay, back to the fight. "Scott..." The Marshal whispered the name, not even sure himself if he had said it. Chuck looked from the readout, and then to his father, and he felt the empty spot in his chest for his lost family. Scott wasn't dead, not in the literal sense, but he was persona non grata, dead to them. How would having their old Jaeger back effect his father, the ranger wondered?

Raleigh was surprised, and glad, he and Yancey had fought with Lucky Seven, she was a good Jaeger, one of the best Mark 4s to have been built. He wondered though, who would pilot her? Herc was a Marshal now, so he was out, Raleigh himself was still busted up from Pitfall, would be for a at least another month. Mako was mostly healed, she would be ok to pilot, and Chuck's burns were almost finished healing as well, but the two weren't drift compatible, not even slightly.

"A Jaeger with no pilots..." He wondered aloud, not thinking about it. Herc seemed to snap out of his thoughts at that, "Lucky us we don't have to worry about that." He sounded dismissive, but the flicker in his eyes showed something else, Fear. Hercules Hanson was afraid of Lucky Seven, she had been his first Jaeger, piloted by he and Scott.

Chuck saw the look in his father's eye, the Marshal didn't have to speak, his son had drifted with him so long he knew what the older man was thinking. "Dad..." He said, thinking what to say, but the Marshal waved him off, "I'm fine boy, why don't you take Raleigh to Striker's old bay and prep for Lucky's arrival?" He posed it as a question, but his tone said it was an order.

"Yessir.." They both said, caught between the excitement of a new Jaeger, and concern for their Marshal. Chuck led the way down to the main floor with Raleigh limping in tow. They got to Striker's bay as the JumpHawk team radioed in for clearance to deliver a "present". "Request received, popping the hatch now, let her in easy boy, she's had a rough ride here." Chuck replied, seeming to know the pilot of the lead Jump Hawk.

"Understood Chuckles." Came the infuriating response. The look in Chuck's eye, Raleigh was sure, was a death warrant for the pilot. Chuck slammed his fist down on a button residing atop a console and a red light began flashing, accompanied by the annoying whining of a siren as the massive "hatch" above Striker's old bay began to creep open.

Rain poured in through the hole, followed by two massive, olive drab boots. Raleigh was struck with awe as the old Jaeger descended, slowly, gracefully, as though sent down from the heavens. Boots, then thick, stocky legs, thin knees, adorned with vicious flanged spikes that rose up from the shin plate over sleek thighs, the waist, set with a full, 360 degree pivot for full body turning, the abdomen, slim and compact, comprised of overlapping plates, thick as walls, the sleek, streamlined chest, two slight bulges in the breast, definitely a female Jaeger, her hands, nimble and delicate, dexterous and adorned with sharp, serated knuckle plates, meant for deadly precise, crushing and slashing blows, her forearms, thin, but with flanged plates on the backs of them, for bashing and cutting, her upper arms,gently curved, but with seams in the plates, indicative of hidden weapons, rockets or machine guns likely, her shoulders, bulky and wide, fixed air-to-air missile batteries, and high, protective plates to guard her beautiful face, and beautiful it was, to a pilot with no Jaeger.

Her head, sleek and sexy, a defined jaw, easy brow and the slim, wrap-around lavender visor. Lucky Seven was truly a beautiful Jaeger, in Raleigh's eyes, able to match even Gipsy Danger. The tall, graceful Jaeger's feet touched down, and truly, she was tall, easily taller than Gipsy, easily 290 feet, one of the tallest ever built, surely. The lady was an amazon.

Raleigh couldn't help but catch his breath, truly, Jaeger's stirred a part of his soul no woman ever could. Chuck let out a low wolf whistle, even in his pissy state, he couldn't help but appreciate the Jaeger's allure, deadly and sexy at the same time. The cables at her shoulders disconnected and she lurched downward a few feet, bouncing back up slightly ash her gyros stabilized her. The harnesses were retracted and Chuck pressed the button on the console again, closing the massive overhead door.

"She's beautiful.." Came the unexpected voice of Mako from behind them, filled with awe for the aging death machine. She stepped forward to the console and pressed a few buttons, then and arm extended from the rig beside the Jaeger and it plugged into the back of the Lucky's conn-pod with a lurch. The bay was filled with a humming and the console's display lit up, showing the Jaeger's stats and status. Raleigh almost swallowed his tongue.

Lucky Seven  
>Country of Origin: Australia<br>Launch Date: 08/11/18  
>Classification: Mark-4<br>Status: Active  
>Height: 295ft.(89.92m)<br>Weight: 1822 tons  
>Speed: 9<br>Strength: 7  
>Armor: 5<p>

Equipment:  
>Jaeger A.I. "Lucky" (Shackled: Fully Aware)<br>101BD/Hyper-Torque Drivers  
>T-12 Angel Wings<br>F1209/Gyro Stabilizers  
>8.1 "Pointy"<br>2.5 Grapple (Retractable)

Operating System:  
>Error: File not Accessible<p>

Energy Core:  
>"Blue-Light" 1.0<p>

Weapons"  
>"Bear Claws"<br>SG-5 pulse weapon (Right Hand)  
>.50 Caliber "Anti-Tank" Auto-Turret (25)<br>120mm "Anti-Kaiju" Air-to-Air Missile Battery (2: 4 per cluster)

Body Language:  
>Under-Handed Duelist<p>

Pilots:  
>RNG. Hercules "Herc" Hansen<br>CIV. Scott Hansen

Kill Count:  
>2<p>

Mako frowned, pressing a few keys rapidly. Nothing happened and she frowned more deeply. "I'm gonna go check out her conn-pod, coming Chuck?" Raleigh said, heading for the cargo lift. "Yea, I've always wanted to see inside Lucky." He replied, slapping the up button once they were both in the lift. As they ascended, they watched Mako, typing furiously at the console, and not seeming to get anywhere.

The lift lurched to a stop and the gate slid away. The rangers made a slow pace acrossed the catwalk, marveling at the Jaeger beneath and beside them. Up close they culd see the paint job, new on several plates, but ragged and worn off, severely dented in places, Lucky Seven had been put down. Hard. It brought a stinging to Raleigh's eyes, such a beautiful machine, so violently beaten.

"What happened to her?" He asked, it was almost rhetorical, she had obviously been beaten by a Kaiju, but he wanted to hear it. "He A.I. became self aware during battle, she locked up in the middle of the fight, Kaiju thrashed her, hurt Dad and Scott something bad. Her core got pierced and they sent her to the shop, but the Jaeger program was closing, so they took her to oblivion bay half repaired." Chuck told him, a note of sorrow for the proud machine in his voice.

They made it to the conn-pod, the pilot hatch having just opened. As Raliegh stepped into the dark cockpit of the Jaeger, the lights flashed on and and the Harnesses and visor came into view. A voice, feminine and alluring came over the speakers and caught him off-guard, almost tripping him in his shock,

"Hello Roma, its been a long time!"


End file.
